W.W.W....

One of the best known Acronyms in the World has a new meaning...

The Three Key areas things we need to focus on when delivering Business Success...

1. Why - why do you do what you do...? 

What is your true purpose - it's not the money, or at least it shouldn't be. Money is a consequence of everyting that we do, but is is not Why we do it.

I have seen people in business simply chase the money without any thought or consideration for the contribution, difference or changes they could actually be making. In every case they end up either broke and alone or empty and unfulfilled. 

2. What - what is in it for me...?

As a customer of yours, I will be asking myself the question - what is in it for me..?

What answer would I be able to give myself - what is the uniqueness of your product and service, what are the benefits to me...?

If you can't answer these questions, then nor can your Clients, if they can't taste the difference between you and a competitor then they will use price as a decision maker. If you are not positively differentiated in terms of Client experience and satisfaction - then you will be beaten down on price..

3. Wow - what is the WoW Factor...?

Do you go the extra mile or just do what the customer expected...?

How good would your service have to be that you never had to sell anything again - it was so good you had to ration it..?

Selling can be the art of getting people to part with their money on the basis of clever techniques rather than solid value. Do you have a WoW factor in your business - is everyone talking about you, do you have a waiting list..?

Entrepreneurs Only...

I am an Entrepreneur...

Not a serial entrepreneur – they simply jump from one bright shiny thing to another, using failure as an excuse for “learning opportunities”…

Serial Entrepreneurs think that failure is part of the journey – no its not – get it right first time, use knowledge skills and talent to make it right. When you have been on the receiving end of some of the “learning opportunities” that others have made you will know how it feels.

Can things be improved..? – of course...

Are mistakes inevitable..? – yes, but your clients should never know…

Is failure an option..? – Never…

My learning opportunities were when I worked in someone else’s business and worked my way up, my learning opportunities were 14 years at night school, my learning opportunities were all the books I read, seminars I went to and experiences I had.

As serial entrepreneur is like serial husband or wife – no commitment to make something of true value actually deliver its full potential; when it gets too hard they simply move on.

No one wants one of those…

I am an Entrepreneur…

This is not what I do – it is who I am…

I do not have a career – I have a life…

I do not have a Job – I make a contribution…

There is no wage – just reciprocated value…

Hours – as many as I choose and 1 more than necessary…

Holidays – life is a holiday, think of the alternative…

Striking for better conditions – I choose my own conditions…

So when you meet a real entrepreneur who has put their heart and soul into what they do, when they have used their savings and begged and borrowed the rest and backed themselves 100% what should you say to them…?

Simple – “Well done…”

These people are the unsung heroes, they may not be all over Facebook, networking at champagne lunches, posting pictures from the Seychelles’ – they will be building a business, figuring out how to pay the VAT, paying their staff before they pay themselves, riding around in a 15 year old car because all their cash is in their business and thinking how next quarter will be better than the last…

Be gentle with their dreams – what they build is all that they are, if you criticise their business you criticise them.

And when they make it, don’t be jealous – don’t think that success is easy and that they don’t deserve it – they do…

If you want success in business – get to work, get to college, get to the library, get on with it, but most of all stick at it…

Serial Entrepreneurs are the pretenders to the Crown…

Are you an Entrepreneur…?

Cannes or Cannes Not...

Following on from the Blog post below - we are taking just 12 people with us to Cannes in October to attend our famous Entrpreneurs Retreat..

Click on the LINK to find out more - but hurry because places are being snapped up quickly...

See you there...

Goals Suck...

First, in order to understand achievement, we have to understand motivation…

There are four key drivers that motivate us;

·        Achievement of a future Goal – seeking pleasure – towards motivation

·        Relief from Pressure – removing pain – away from motivation

·        Internal factors – making us feel good to ourselves – internal reference

·        External factors – making us look good to others – external reference

This is why simply having a Goal doesn’t work – it only satisfies one of the criteria – for a Goal to be engaging and motivational for us it needs to engage all of our drivers in the appropriate way.

First – let’s clear up why Goals Suck…

Having a Goal would appear to be the panacea of achievement – there are books, videos, gurus and seminars that will tell you that Goals are the key to success and that without them you are useless. The Goals that they are talking about tend to be those that are future based – how many adverts have you seen that predict more money, better lifestyle and happier families. Network Marketers and Franchisors take note…

A Goal by itself is an excuse – it makes us feel good because we can carry with us the feint image of better times to come, but we don’t ever have to achieve it because the “feel good” comes from imagining the possibility rather than actually achieving it. 

If we feel good, or perceive the benefit of a Goal without actually having to achieve it, then we find excuses to do so...

In the 2006 movie Tristan and Isolde which is based on the 12^th Century English legend known as Tristan and Iseult, the major issue regarding Goals is explained. In a scene where Tristan has conquered all before him and won the battle, he is sat on his throne looking forlorn.

Asked by one of his lieutenants why, after achieving everything that he set out to do, he is not full of joy, Isolde replies – “because he has lost the most precious thing he had – he has lost his dream…” or words to that effect…

Achieving a Goal means that we come to an end – the dream that we have becomes reality and as such the dream evaporates. Reality rarely lives up to the dream we have when creating it, so by definition the achievement of a Goal is a let-down. Paradoxically we cannot live without a dream or vision of our future and this is the very reason we are compelled not to actually achieve them – we simply want to keep the dream alive.

Lights, Camera - ACTION

I never really understood how to formulate a “Goal” – seemed to be difficult for me to choose just one “thing” or result…

Instead I found that by simply imagining “how cool would it be if…” I could create a future scene that included a variety of things..

For example, I used to think it “would be really cool” to actually live and work in the USA – I could visualise the cars, the buildings, and the people I could meet. I had a movie in my mind of what life could be like, how people would react to my accent, the air temperature and how I would be able to ride a Harley Davidson to Death Valley, or drive a ridiculous SUV over the Hoover Dam…

It wasn’t a Goal, it was more than that, it was a ready-made show reel in which I was the Director, Producer, Writer and Star – to me it was it was real, I could play the movie to myself in my mind whenever I wished…

That was when I was 17 – at that time life was not so sparkly and bright – eating cold food in a damp flat, or sleeping on the Central Line to keep warm was a million miles away from the USA…

Now let’s scroll forwards – on the 31^st March 2008 I receive a telephone call. Would I like to take my self my business and my family to live and work in the USA – Las Vegas to be precise…

My instant response was yes – within 2 weeks I was there, we sold everything and moved to the USA, we had a fabulous time there for two years. I bought the Harley Davidson and the SUV rode to Death Valley and drove over the Hoover Dam.

Note that this actually took 25 years to achieve - and to go from Ponders End to Las Vegas took plenty of work, learning, winning, losing, blood sweat and tears...

After a while we started to realise that actually, France was more in tune with our personal and professional ambitions and offered us a preferred lifestyle. So I produced another movie this time with the whole family as cast and crew but this time the location was France…

Sure enough, I attracted a business opportunity in Luxembourg – which meant that we could live in France, so again we immediately agreed and relocated back to Europe. We are still here – and rather than a new movie we are simply putting together the sequel – France 2 - the Monaco Years...

So what I have come to realise is that I don’t like Goals – I like Movies, and once the Movie is clear in my mind my actions, behaviour and decisions are guided in such a way that the opportunities for the Movie to become a reality become open to me. My job is simply to recognise the opportunities and capitalise on them when they come along - my subconscious

The biggest challenge that people face in business and in life is that they either don't recognise the opportunity, or if they do they don't say YES, they think about it, procrastinate, find excuses, allow the fear to be stronger than the excitement- and end up doing nothing.

For example, working with me will change your life and change your business - I guarantee it. The only thing that holds people back is the debilitating activity of the logical mind which looks for evidence, certainty, guarantees and predictability. What great movie have you ever seen that had predictability or certainty in the script...? 

Movies are products of creativity, use your creativity when making your decisions too...

The real beauty of this method, for me at least, is that when the phone rings and someone describes an opportunity – I can instantly either say yes or no, because if it is the right one, I will have already seen the movie in my mind and providing the two match, life is good.

Precessional Efffect

Around 12 months ago I published my first book - Life Rules OK. A semi biographical stopry of personal growth, developmenmt and success - with some of the lessons I have learned so far on my journey to date.

For those of you that have published a book, you will know what it feels like to hold a finished piece of work n your hands, and the sense of pride that having completed the work brings. I wrote the book with the intention of inspiring people - or just one person maybe - to aviod some of the "excitement" I had experienced iin my teens.

So keen was I to get the message out that we ran seminars and workshops where I gave books away to anyone who would turn up to an event - just to get the message out. Turns out that this was perhaps a mistake..

About two weeks ago I recieved an Email from a young lady who had bought my book from a local charity shop - (someone I gave the book to had chosen to pass it on..) and she was so moved by the content that she was compelled to summarise the material in the form of a Poem;

Life Rules 1.2.3

This is the way I clearly see
As we move away
We leave behind
What keeps us stuck
As life was struck

To change our views
To match values
To keep open minded
As visions were blinded
To move forward

To embrace the fear
To keep hold of our dreams
Of ones we see dear
Life rules 1.2.3
This is the way

I clearly see
As my pictures
Profoundly become me

Emma Islip - 2012

Now the lesson here for me is that giving something away does not in itself generate any benefit, however the precessional effect - if the book had not been donated to the Charity Shop - can be amazing..

The Universe acts in mysterious ways - I got the effect I wanted but not in the method I anticipated. This happens in Life and in Business so often..


If you want to give your God a good laught - tell her your plans for the future..

Proving a Point...

I remember being told that I had two choices in Careers at school - either to go down the Pit or join the Infantry...
I also remeber running away to London to creat my own future at the age of 17 - I was aksed if I did it to prove "them" wrong. I knew that "they" were wrong already, I didn't need to prove that, they had demonstrated that through their words and actions.
What I did have to do was prove myself right - I developed an "inner" belief in myself that shielded me from the negative views of others, that has stayed with me to this day. At 17 however, I ended up sleeping on platforms and carriages courtesy of British Rail, or eating at the Charity Shelters courtesy of the Red Cross - but I always believed, and Lynn believed in me too - if you believe strong enough then reality catches up eventually...
Of course, the belief may have been overstated at the time - but the more trust I have had in myself the more I have been able to prove myself right. This has enabled me to stay in married for 26 years so far - in spite of what the family had to say - live in three countries, get my MBA and write 36 books...
It's not what other people think about you that is important, it is what you think about yourself that matters. If I had listened to the external voices back then, I would have been in a very different place now.
The top three life lessons that I have learned so far, that I hope will help you on your journey;
1. Trust your instinct..
2. Love unconditionally..
3. Say Yes..

Have a great week...